Beastmaster of the Ages

The ebon expeditionary army retreated from the astralguard formation, yet the commotion above Gladeus didn’t stop. Pink storms continued to rage endlessly, tearing away at the astral gods and warbeasts that had failed to escape. Most of the ebons tried to use the bodies of their beasts to block the attacks of the hellstar reaper sword condensate, but it was still only a matter of time before they died. Their warbeasts shrieked in pain as they were skinned and reduced into fleshy strips, which were eventually reduced to their individual astrons and vaporized completely. Only a few truly elite ebons were able to escape Lin Xiaodao and Ji Ji’s cleanup efforts.

The casualties were irreversible, and most laughably, the Ebonfiend and the other forty ether-class divine astralships, as well as the nine hundred thousand ebons that had left the formation could do nothing but watch as their comrades died. None of them dared to go back in to rescue them. They did nothing but watch from above, not even leaving Gladeus, prolonging their humiliation and pain. It felt like their hearts were being clawed apart with every shriek they heard.

”Ten ether-class ships... gone….”

”At least a hundred thousand astral gods died here!”

”Who would’ve thought that we would suffer such a huge loss with the rex mundi with us….”

A dour mood clouded their minds, yet they couldn’t possibly feel worse than the comrades they had left behind in the formation, including the Gladean ebons. That day should’ve been an occasion for celebration, yet it had turned into one of despair, disbelief, and fear. The hundred thousand astral gods that had been reduced to tiny astrons didn’t leave any remains. Only debris from the destroyed ships fell from the sky.

The Gladean ebons clearly counted ten ether-class ships being destroyed. Gladeus itself didn’t even have more than three of those! The fact that a fifth-class world managed to cost the invaders that many ships of that class was shocking to say the least. The Gladean ebons were at a complete loss when the news began to spread.

”What do we do next?”

”Will our esteemed ruler continue the attack and wipe out the Skycross Lin Clan along with Lin Xiaodao’s ship and formation?”

”I don’t know. Probably.”

”If their losses are too huge, Yi Daiyan will have an opening to strike. Maybe they’ll turn around and abandon us.”

That sentiment immediately sparked panic among the Gladean ebons. Ji Ji had truly played a pivotal role in the destruction of the expeditionary force, and Lin Xiaodao had struck true fear in the Gladean ebons. Everyone knew that once the expeditionary force retreated, Lin Xiaodao would proceed to use his infinitum-class ship to clear out the last sparks of resistance and unify Gladeus. The Gladean ebons looked to the skies, praying that they would be rescued. But when the elites among them told them that the Ebonfiend had turned back to retreat, the rest knelt and broke out in tears. They had truly been abandoned.

”How many years has it been? We ebons have finally been forced into submission.”

Unlike the Gladean ebons, the members of the Skycross Lin Clan let out booming cheers. Morale was at an all-time high from recent triumphs. Their fighting spirits burned bright as they heralded the coming of a new golden age! Lin Xiaodao had Tianming pilot the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb to launch one final push against the Gladean ebons by taking down their sanctuary-class defensive formation!

......

Within the Ebonfiend, five hundred thousand astral gods stood together blankly. None of them dared to make a sound, wearing tortured expressions. A powerful wave of soul power fluctuated, with the Myriadbeast Throne as the source. Invisible hands seemed to close in around the necks of everyone, making them short of breath. Lin Jie felt the very same thing and broke out in a cold sweat. He gripped his fists tight and knelt before Shenxi Xingtian, his burning throat unable to make a single sound.

All this while, Lin Xiaodao was still doing cleanup down below. Lin Jie had never imagined that the bumpkin that he had never cared much about from back then would be capable of doing something like that. Lin Jie was someone who had grown up in a time when Shenxi Xingtian was still the ruler of the Infinitum Mundus, so in his mind, Shenxi Xingtian was still the true rex mundi. All the while, it felt like his heart was being ripped apart.

At that moment, he heard Shenxi Xingtian speaking calmly to someone else. Lin Jie seemed rather taken aback. When he listened more closely, he could make out the name of the person on the other line, someone called Meng Ying. It was a name that put huge pressure on Lin Jie. He took a deep breath, looked up, and calmed himself. After that, he was able to hear the conversation clearly. He could see two white figures standing before the throne of skulls, though, they weren’t physical bodies nor projections from gold transmission stones. It must be a distant astral projection of a foundationeer. The one speaking to him now must be a mundus-level elite!

Lin Jie’s heart beat faster. Was it one super elite, or two? He looked closely at the two white figures. Meng Ying, Foundation stage... I know who that is! They’re the divine wonderian rex mundi of the neighboring Skydome Mundus!

These two people should’ve never crossed paths. In fact, they were elite foundationeers who seldom interacted with others at all. Yet, they were holding a conversation. He held his breath and didn’t make a single sound, focusing all he could on eavesdropping. The divine wonderian called Meng Ying had two half-personas, one male infant and one female infant. It looked as if they had just been born. Yet, their manner of speech was ancient and antiquated, creating quite the stark contrast.

”Meng Ying, give it to me straight. What do you want?” Shenxi Xingtian asked, his pool eyes staring straight at the two figures.

The male infant said, ”Li Tianming has a girl around him called Weisheng Moran. She belongs to the divine wonderians and holds our secrets. I will only claim her and leave the rest to you.”

”Li Tianming? Isn’t he called Lin Feng?” Shenxi Xingtian wondered.